Author
Topic: Some questions that need answers (Read 2426 times)

I'm a bit confused about some things in our language. If i would say 'I'm eating' i would say 'hon (be-)khala'.. But is 'hon' a legit assyrian word? What is the 100% correct way of saying it in lishana 3ateeqa? I was also wondering about if why there is so much fuzz about the letter beth.. Lets take the word 'father' for example.... Aba, awa and ava ... How was this word pronounced at first? Another question i have is: do we have silent letters in lishana 3teeqa? By silent letters i mean like those we in the modern language mark with a line above the letter

There are many mistakes in the pronunciation of many Assyrians because of lazy pronunciation or because of Assyrian illiterates, e.g. many say shahret Mar Zaya but it´s ܫܗܪܐ ܕܡܪܝ ܙܝܐ (shahra dMar Zaya).

i dont really think that this is a point that is to be criticized. I think that the reason why "shara d'mar Zaya" is pronounced "sharet mar zaya" is because of language devolopment... not because of people being illiterates. Just like "Qudsha" is pronounced "Qucha".

But i would really like to know how we in the lishana 3ateeqa say "i am eating". ... how do you guys say it in the western-dialect?

I'm a bit confused about some things in our language. If i would say 'I'm eating' i would say 'hon (be-)khala'.. But is 'hon' a legit assyrian word? What is the 100% correct way of saying it in lishana 3ateeqa?

ho- is the main root, right (like ho-t (be)khala = "you are eating")? I think it comes from ܗܘ (haw/hoo/(h)oo, "that [m]/he/he is"), but I could be wrong.

In the classical language, it would be what Alex said: akhel (e)na (written ܐܟܠ ܐܢܐ or ܐܟܠܢܐ), which could also just simply be "I eat." We tend to pronounce this like "akhlin" in the modern Eastern dialect.

If you want to use it in a habitual sense, you could also use ekhol (ܐܟܘܠ), but that could also mean "I will eat," "I was eating," "may I eat," or "let me eat."

I was also wondering about if why there is so much fuzz about the letter beth.. Lets take the word 'father' for example.... Aba, awa and ava ... How was this word pronounced at first?

Most likely, the absolute original pronunciation thousands and thousands of years ago was with a "b," but that could predate Aramaic as being a separate language from, say, Hebrew. Beth is one of the BGDKPT letters that changes its pronunciation depending on where it occurs in a word (a phenomenon found in a lot of languages called "spirantization"), it has nothing to do with laziness and the word for "father" does not come from the Akkadian word but is a sister to the Akkadian word. In the original classical language, it's a "v." Later on, it became a "w."

Another question i have is: do we have silent letters in lishana 3teeqa? By silent letters i mean like those we in the modern language mark with a line above the letter

Yes we do, but not as many as we have today. The word for "one" was xadh (m) and xdha (f), with a "d" sound, before it started being pronounced like "xa." In the classical language, there's no line over the dalath to mark it as silent.

From what I have learned, I think it's ܐܟܠ ܢܐ or "okhel no" (western pronounciation) and in western dialect it's "kokhal no" so the western form is very close to the kthobonoyo form

Alex, I don´t know whether "okhel-no" is kthobonoyo, but it´s definitive our todays spoken turoyo dialect. You say "okhal-no" if you wanna say that you eat in general.You say "k-okhal-no" if you wanna say that you eat now, in this moment.

The "k-/ko-" in front of the verbs marks the time when you make something now. okhal-no = I eat / k-okhal-no = I am eating

ho- is the main root, right (like ho-t (be)khala = "you are eating")? I think it comes from ܗܘ (haw/hoo/(h)oo, "that [m]/he/he is"), but I could be wrong.

In the classical language, it would be what Alex said: akhel (e)na (written ܐܟܠ ܐܢܐ or ܐܟܠܢܐ), which could also just simply be "I eat." We tend to pronounce this like "akhlin" in the modern Eastern dialect.

If you want to use it in a habitual sense, you could also use ekhol (ܐܟܘܠ), but that could also mean "I will eat," "I was eating," "may I eat," or "let me eat."

*** Ekhol does not mean I will eat, it is an order form as we say Khol.

Most likely, the absolute original pronunciation thousands and thousands of years ago was with a "b," but that could predate Aramaic as being a separate language from, say, Hebrew. Beth is one of the BGDKPT letters that changes its pronunciation depending on where it occurs in a word (a phenomenon found in a lot of languages called "spirantization"), it has nothing to do with laziness and the word for "father" does not come from the Akkadian word but is a sister to the Akkadian word. In the original classical language, it's a "v." Later on, it became a "w."

*** The word for father is Aba, it is still written with a Beet (with rokakha) and it is spelled Awa, while Baba (father) stays as is.

Yes we do, but not as many as we have today. The word for "one" was xadh (m) and xdha (f), with a "d" sound, before it started being pronounced like "xa." In the classical language, there's no line over the dalath to mark it as silent.

*** We still write it khad and khda but we do not pronounce the d in modern Assyrian but in classical Assyrian we do pronounce the d.

From what I have learned, I think it's ܐܟܠ ܢܐ or "okhel no" (western pronounciation) and in western dialect it's "kokhal no" so the western form is very close to the kthobonoyo form

*** Okhelno in western Assyrian is Akhleena in eastern Assyrian which is used mostly by Assyrians from Iran, it is used in what sounds like a plural form but it is singular, so it is eastern ktawanaya nothing different in that.

Alex, I don´t know whether "okhel-no" is kthobonoyo, but it´s definitive our todays spoken turoyo dialect. You say "okhal-no" if you wanna say that you eat in general.You say "k-okhal-no" if you wanna say that you eat now, in this moment.

The "k-/ko-" in front of the verbs marks the time when you make something now. okhal-no = I eat / k-okhal-no = I am eating

*** Ekhol does not mean I will eat, it is an order form as we say Khol.

This is my fault for not wording it clearly, but ekhol is the classical language (an imperfect tense, which we don't use anymore), and it does mean "I will eat," among other senses. The word akhol is another usage altogether (the imperative, which we still use to this day but pronounce khol), meaning "eat!," as a command. These forms happen to be spelled the same without vowels in verbs that have alaph as the first root letter (ܐܟܘܠ), but they're different.

To use examples of the same tenses in verbs that don't start with an alaph:

iwan bekhala is the correct word, or the right one!.....iwan comes from i am etc etc......."hon" is just a word that everybody used to say to be easy! its more easy to pronounce......my father says hon bekhala,,but my mother says dun bekhala!!!!

i didnt really get with the letter beth stuff..but i can say something about it and it is...beth is pronounced beth regular! but when we have a dot under the beth its "w" from awa..,,,.and when we have a small slide or more like this( ` )above the beth or above any letter ..that means that the letter is tleeqa,,silent!

iwan bekhala is the correct word, or the right one!.....iwan comes from i am etc etc......."hon" is just a word that everybody used to say to be easy! its more easy to pronounce......my father says hon bekhala,,but my mother says dun bekhala!!!!

i didnt really get with the letter beth stuff..but i can say something about it and it is...beth is pronounced beth regular! but when we have a dot under the beth its "w" from awa..,,,.and when we have a small slide or more like this( ` )above the beth or above any letter ..that means that the letter is tleeqa,,silent!

But we don't use it in our dialect. We say "dun", as in "don bekhala", or "ewin bekhala".

Both du- and ho- came from words that meant something like here or there but evolved to mean am or have (as in I have eaten). In some dialects, "ho" seems to be applied more often when doing as apposed to being. Although they are often used interchangeably, based on this this trend, it is possible to use them to make the following distinction: hon qṭīla (I have killed) vs dun qṭīla (I am killed).

As for the OP, as delayed as this is, abba = father. This became avva and it remains spelt like this (as it should) though most people incorrectly pronounce it as awa/awwa even though there is no Waw and these sound shifts such as V->W often defile and conflate roots. Avva (/awa/awwa) is often used for priests these days but it does mean father in general despite it's decline in popularity. Hence, we have words like avvaha meaning parent

Wow. This topic is like super old.But now that I think about it.. Is there no chance, that "hon" is actually a mixture of "holi" and "iwin" .. or in some dialects a mixture of "dooli" and "iwin", which then will be used as "doon".I mean it's just an idea u know.

Wow. This topic is like super old.But now that I think about it.. Is there no chance, that "hon" is actually a mixture of "holi" and "iwin" .. or in some dialects a mixture of "dooli" and "iwin", which then will be used as "doon".I mean it's just an idea u know.

Thanks, Cascade. Yeah la? I mean if we think about it even more, we already have the form "doonwa" which sounds like a mixture of the words "dooli" and "inwa" (past tense of "iwin").. Same goes then for "honwa" (holi + inwa)

Thanks, Cascade. Yeah la? I mean if we think about it even more, we already have the form "doonwa" which sounds like a mixture of the words "dooli" and "inwa" (past tense of "iwin").. Same goes then for "honwa" (holi + inwa)

E.g. --> "doonwa/honwa wada awa mindi"

I noticed that Assyrian has contractions like English does - Do not: Don't. Going to: Gonna, etc...

Although I must say.. considering "beti ileh soora" and "betileh soora" --> I must say that they might have a small difference in meaning (but maybe it's just me seeing it this way). I feel as if they mean something like:beti ileh soora --> my house is smallbetileh soora --> it is my house that is small

Although I must say.. considering "beti ileh soora" and "betileh soora" --> I must say that they might have a small difference in meaning (but maybe it's just me seeing it this way). I feel as if they mean something like:beti ileh soora --> my house is smallbetileh soora --> it is my house that is small